Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrosurgical systems and methods, and more particularly, to a cold plasma scalpel.
Brief Description of the Related Art
Plasma is an ionized gas that is typically generated in high-temperature laboratory conditions. Recent progress in atmospheric plasmas has led to the creation of cold plasmas with ion temperature close to room temperature. Earlier studies demonstrated the non-aggressive nature of the cold plasma. After it was shown, albeit indirectly, that plasma can interact with organic materials without causing thermal/electric damage to the cell surface, several biological applications were examined. Low-temperature or cold plasmas have an increasing role to play in biomedical applications. The potential use in biomedical applications has driven the development of a variety of reliable and user-friendly plasma sources. There is still some controversy with respect to the mechanism of plasma-cell interaction. Some authors are of the opinion that ion species play the most important role in plasma-cell interactions by triggering intracellular biochemistry. Alternatively, others have suggested that neutral species play the primary role in some plasma-cell interaction pathways. Furthermore, the effects of various ion species may be highly selective; different species can have either “plasma killing” (such as O) or “plasma healing” (such as NO) effects. The role of other species, such as O3 and OH, are not yet clear.
Even less clear has the nature of the interaction between cold plasmas and cancer tissue. Only limited research into the utility of cold plasma for cancer therapy has been performed. For the most part, these in-vitro studies are limited to skin cells and simple cellular responses to the cold plasma treatment. In addition, preliminary reports on plasma's in-vivo antitumor effect are reported. Recent studies have delineated cold plasma's effects on both the cellular and sub-cellular levels. On the cellular level, plasma effects include detachment of cells from the extracellular matrix and decreased migration velocity of cells. On the sub-cellular level, cell surface integrin expression is reduced. We examined the therapeutic potential of a cold plasma jet in cancer cell lines and tumors, focusing on selective tumor cell eradication capabilities and signaling pathway deregulation.
International Patent Application WO 2012/16708 disclosed a device that uses cold plasma to treat cancerous tumors. The device has a gas supply tube with a delivery end. The gas supply tube is configured to carry a gas to the delivery end. A syringe is provided having an opening. The syringe is connected to the supply tube and configured to carry the gas to the opening. A first electrode is positioned inside said syringe, and a second electrode is positioned adjacent to the opening. The first and second electrodes excite the gas to enter a cold plasma state prior to being discharged from the opening of the syringe. An endoscopic tube can be used instead of the syringe. An exhaust tube can be provided to remove gas introduced into the body cavity by the cold plasma jet.
International Patent Application WO 2012/061535 disclosed an electrosurgical method and device for simultaneously cutting and coagulating tissue with an electrosurgical device having an electrode and a channel wherein the channel has a port near a proximal end of the electrode, wherein the method comprises the steps of causing an inert gas to flow through the channel and exit the port, applying high-frequency energy to the electrode while the inert gas flows through the channel, wherein the high-frequency energy applied to the electrode continuously plasmatizes inert gas exiting the port, initiating an electrical discharge from the electrode through the continuously plasmatized inert gas to the tissue, cutting tissue with the electrode, maintaining the electrical discharge from the electrode through the plasmatized inert gas while cutting tissue with the electrode to cause coagulation of the tissue simultaneously with the cutting.